Dinner -- And A Show

Asian Kitchen Now Serving Wellington

WELLINGTON — At the new Pei Wei Asian Diner, chefs in the open kitchen prepare Asian dishes by tossing meat and vegetables high in woks over tall, orange flames dancing on the stove.

"It's not just food. There's a little show that goes along with it," said Tim Tierney, Pei Wei development partner.

Pei Wei, pronounced "pay way," opened its doors in May at the Wellington Green Square shopping center. The Asian fare is about 40 percent Chinese, and a mixture of Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Thai cuisine, Tierney said.

The restaurant's parent company is P.F. Chang's China Bistro. This next concept has three other Florida locations: Renaissance Commons off Congress Road in Boynton Beach, Weston and Orlando. The Arizona-based chain has between 85 and 90 locations nationwide and has signed leases for seven more Florida sites to open in 2007.

"The concept was originally conceived as a takeout alternative to P.F. Chang's. It grew into more than that, as an Asian diner," Tierney said.

Customers order at a counter. Each dish is made to order, and servers bring diners their food. While the restaurant's goal is to prepare meals within seven to nine minutes, dishes can take 10 to 15 minutes during the busiest times, said general manager Jefre Wood.

Dishes range from Vietnamese chicken salad rolls wrapped in rice paper to Asian coconut curry to Mandarin kung pao. The fusion menu allows Pei Wei more choices when adding items to the menu, which it does about once a year, Tierney said.

It's all fresh, from the meat to the wrapped-on-the-premises spring rolls, Wood said. The chefs use only tenderloin meat for pork, breast meat for chicken, and flank steak for beef, he said. Health-conscious consumers can ask the chefs to use vegetable stock instead of oil when cooking their meals.

Appetizers, called "First Tastes" on the menu, include soup, crab wontons, spring rolls, edamame and lettuce wraps, priced from $1.95 to $6.95.

Salads are from $6.25 to $6.95. Noodle and rice bowls are from $6.25 to $7.25, with the choice of chicken, beef, pork or vegetables and tofu. Shrimp and scallops are $1 more. Signature dishes, which also allow customers to choose a type of meat or vegetables, are between $6.75 and $9.

Pei Wei does not take reservations but offers takeout. The restaurant is decorated in red, black and honey-colored wood, and booths and tables are set with plates, napkins and chopsticks.

Ushma Patel can be reached at upatel@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6621.